Alexander the Great: A Presentation
by Tom Richey (TomRichey.net)

TERMS LIST: Philip II, Demosthenes,
Orator,Philippic, Alexander the Great, Gordian Knot,Battle of Gaugamela, Hellenism, SeleucidEmpire, Ptolemaic Empire

Macedonia was a second-rate power
beforeAthens and Sparta weakened each other in thePeloponnesian War.

PHILIP II, king of Macedon
and father ofAlexander the Great, conquered the Greek citystates.

The Macedonian Empire at the
Death of PhilipII. Note that Sparta remained unconquered byPhilip.

Laconic: Concise or terse speech,
named forthe Spartan homeland, Laconia. The Spartansattempted to communicate ideas in as fewwords as possible (this was all part of theSpartan ideal of simplicity).

Philip sent a messenger to
Sparta with awarning.

A Laconic Reply

Demosthenes was an Athenian orator
who delivered a series of philippics – passionate orationsagainst Philip II aimed at encouraging the Athenians to resist. Athenian resistance ultimatelyfailed, but Demosthenes is still remembered as a great orator and the term, philippic, is still usedto describe an angry speech directed at an individual in power.

In order to unite the
people of the Greek city-states he had conquered, Philip planned to goto war with the Persian Empire.

But Philip was assassinated before
he couldexecute his plan.

Philip’s plan would be carried
out by his son,Alexander.

Alexander the Great was King
of Macedonfrom 336-323 B.C. Although he conquered theknown world, he was also an adventurer and acultural ambassador who would spread Greekculture across the East.

A map of Alexander the
Great’s conquests.

The Battle of Granicus: Note
alexander’sleadership from the front commanding hisCompanion Cavalry.

Alexander personally commanded hisCompanion Cavalry,
placing himself in the thickof every battle. Alexander trained his horse,Bucephalus (Ox Head), after others had givenup on him as unbreakable.

The Companions charged in a
wedge formationin order to maximize power.

In 333 B.C., Alexander and
his army wintered inGordium, a city in Asia Minor. In Gordium,there was a knot that no one could untie. Ithad been prophesied that whoever could untiethe knot would be the ruler of Asia. Aftertrying unsuccessfully to untie the knot,Alexander drew his sword and cut it in half.Sometimes, the term, “Gordian knot,” is usedto describe a seemingly complex problem thathas a simple solution one someone thinksoutside the box.

The Battle of Issus: Alexander
was heavilyoutnumbered, but used the terrain to hisadvantage. He fought the Persian king, Darius,on a narrow battlefield that played to hisstrengths (think Thermopylae).

Alexander’s companions smashed through thePersian
line, creating a gap at a critical point.This was Alexander’s second decisive victoryover the Persians.